If you want to balance and cleanse your chakras, a good yoga practice can open up these centers of energy.

What Are Chakras?

Chakras (derived from the Sanskit term “wheel”) are energetic organs that collect, filter and distribute energy gathered from the universe. They channel your chi, enhancing your intuition and granting you inner strength. Your chakras can be opened or blocked, allowing or hindering your psyche from accessing the energy within.

How Does Yoga Affect The Chakras?

Yoga positions and practices can be used to open, cleanse, and balance your chakras.

This promotes emotional, spiritual and physical well being. The location of the chakras coincides with seven primary nerve centers along your spine. Each chakra is associated with specific physical and emotional health issues. When a chakra is cleansed and opened, it is balanced and neither blocked nor over-stimulated.

This means you will want to pay attention to specific yoga practices as you work to cleanse and balance particular chakras. Look for corresponding bodily and emotional health improvements as you fine-tune your yoga practice. For example, if you’re always tired, you may wish to learn yoga moves that will open your third chakra (which is associated with power and energy).

Get To Know The Seven Chakras

The following are the seven chakras and their basic properties:

First Chakra

• Base of spine
• Earth
• Associated with being grounded
• Source of kundalini energy
• Use the bridge pose to open your first chakra

Second Chakra

• General area of reproductive organs
• Emotional identity
• Creative energy
• Sexual energy
• Use the cobra pose to open your second chakra

Third Chakra

• Solar Plexus
• Fire
• Endurance
• Self control
• Use the bow pose to open your third chakra

Fourth Chakra

• Heart
• Feelings of love
• Air
• Goodwill
• Use the camel pose to open the fourth chakra

Fifth Chakra

• Throat
• Sound
• Communication
• Self defense
• Speaking truth
• Use the fish pose to open your fifth chakra

Sixth Chakra

• Center of your forehead
• Light
• Psychic ability
• Intuition
• Inspiration
• Use the seated yoga mudra pose to open your sixth chakra

Seventh Chakra

• Crown
• Altruism
• Connection with universe
• Enlightenment
• Use the seated yoga mudra pose to open the seventh chakra just as you would the sixth chakra

Cleansing The Chakras With Yoga

While these basics will get you started, it’s best to find a yoga instructor with spiritual training who will help you develop a practice that keeps you balanced and is far more comprehensive than this primer. Yoga has been practiced since the year 2000 B.C. As you can imagine, there is much to be learned about this time-honored practice.

About the Author:

Amanda Tradwick is a grant researcher and writer for CollegeGrants.org. She has a Bachelor’s degrees from the University of Delaware, and has recently finished research on student grants for college and scholarships and grants.